Recording-taximeter.



G. S. MAXWELL. RECORDING TAXIMETER. APPucATloN FILED ocr. 16. 19u.

Patented May 11, 1915 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' (Las UNTTEE .sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

GEORGE SEYMOUR MAXWELL, DF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE TAXIMETER REGISTER COMPANY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

RECORDING-TAXIMETER.

Application filed October 16, 1911.

To all Iicioi/i it inf/y concern.'

Be it known that I, GEoiioF. S. MAXwELil, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in. the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new Aand useful Improvements in Recording Taxjimeters, of which the followiingr is a specificaticn. f.

.My invention relates toA improvements in recording taximeters.

The object of my -invention is to devise a simple form of recording mechanism in combination with a taximeter whereby a record may be kept of all the facts necessary for a vehicle owner to know in order to control the manner of operating the vehicle. from day to day, and at the saine time this resultisattained with a small amount of additional -meclianisnn so as -t'o produce a device which will be durable, and relatively economical vin construction and operation.

Vith these general objects in view my invention, broadly considered, consists of the combination with the elements necessary to constitute a taxinicter, of means foitholding and moving a record sheet of any kind, such, for example, as a web or tape, and a pair of recording devices arranged to niark the record sheet, one recording a series of wave-like lines contiiiiuiusly during the.Y

movement of the vehicle., and being actuated from a wheel of the vehicle, whilethc other merely marks a line on the sheet,'the position of the line being determined by thel .position of said recordingr device with rclation to the sheet, such position being con trolled by the. setting arm of the taximeter, .which serves to throw the indicatingr mechanism of the taximeter into and out of operation. The record' sheet is most advantageously fed by a clock-mechanism of the usual type.

A further feature of my invention consists in means for rewinding: the clock from the device which drives the taximeter register, so that Whenever the clock spring has `run down it will be automatically wound up during the travel of t-he vehicle. I n lthe drawings,-I `igure 1 is an elevation partly in section of so iniich of a taximeter as is necessary to illust-rate my .invention; Fig 2, a side ele-ration of the mecha` Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 654,830.

nism shown in Fig. 1; Fig 8, a plan View of the record sheet holding mechanism with the markers; Fig. 4` a view of apiece of a record sheet. with a record formed thereon; and Figs. 5, t5 and 7, detail views of the clockwinding' mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, divided by a partition a into an upper and a lower compartment. 'l`he lower compartment contains any usual form of taxiineter and registering mechanism arranged to be driven from the vehicle wheel and to be set for different conditions of service by a suitable manually-operated Settingr mechanism. As such mechanisms are well known and in general use, I have only indie-ated the n'iechanisin in a general way in the drawings. For example, the fare registers are A is a casing at l5, Fig. 1, and the register mechanism has a worin wheel l in mesh with a worm B2 fixed on a vertical driving,r shaft ll arranged to be driven iii the usual way by a flexible shaft from the vehicle wheel. The coupling for the iiexible shaft is indicated at Il* and is of any ordinary type.

The manually operated setting ii'iechaiiism comprise-s the usual flagl or setting..r :ai-ni fixed to a setting slia'l't t" and arranged to set thc. register mechanism so that it will register at'dill'erent rates, depending;A upon the. extent to which the .settingr arm is moved singularly. It is common to have the setting mechanism and the register inecha nisiii so arranged that the register can he set to operate under four dilerent conditions, namely, frst. not operatingr or idle, even though thev vehicle he moving. second,

"operating at a given rate to register the charge for one or two passengers, third, operating ai'.- a second rate to register the 'charge i'or three orv four passengers, and,

fourth, with the register disconnected from the vehicle. wheels and connected to a clock mechanism whereby the register operates to spring is wound up by the movement ,ofA the..

vehicle as soon as the clock spring has run down. As this rewinding mechanism forms a part of my present invention it will be described in detail hereinafter. The taximeter register mechanism also comprises an indicator, E, operated by the setting arm C to show the rate of charge being made by the register mechanism, as is usual, and in addition .comprises a register of extra charges, indicated at F and which may be manually operated by a rod f having a knob f at the back of the casing. (See Fig. 2.)

As hereinbefore stated the particular details of construction of the taximeter register mechanism form no part of my present invention and only so much thereof has been illustrated .and referred to as is necessary for a full understanding of my invention, which will'now be described.

On the driving shaft B3 is fixed a cam G having an inclined lateral surface g, against which bears a roller` g mounted on a stud g2 Vprojecting laterally from a rod G which is slidably mounted in a guide a carried by the partition a, the said rod G extending through said' partition as shown in Fig. 1.

The rod G is pressed downward yieldingly isetting shaft C. The x ily-2.a spring ga bearing. against a collar g on the rod and against the guide a', whereby' the roller is kept in contactwith the operating sur ace g of the cam G, so that as the driving shaft Ba and the cam G rotate, the

rod G is reciprocated inits guide a. To the upper end of the rod G is attached a swinging arm H which is yeldingl pressed toward a traveling record sheet 'by any suitable means, for example, by a coiled sprin z, connected to the arm H and to the rod The arm H is provided with a socket k', Fig. 2 for holding a suitable marking instrument k2 vsuch asja point of some suitable metal which will make a mark on paper, for example lead. It is evident that by means of the arrangement above described, rotation of shaft B produces rectilinear reciprocating movement of the rod. G', and hence of the marking instrument ft2,

the motion of the marker taking place parallel to the surface of the traveling record sheet and transversely to the movementV thereof, The partition a also carries' another rod guide a2, in .this case extending upward from the partition. Through this guide extends a rod, K which is capable of moving longitudinally in its guide a2 and of rotating therein 'for a purpose hereinafter described The lower end of this rod is provided with a head which rests upon a lever K' fulcrumed at k and having its free end hearing on a stepped'cam KF, ,fixed on the l K is surrounded ."--by ahelical spring secured at its lower end to the rod and alf-lts upper end to the partition a, this spring le serving not only to force the rod K yicldingly against the lever K but also tending to rotate said rod about its axis. To the upper end of this rod is secured a marking arm L, provided with a socket l carrying a suitable pencil or marker l which is held yieldingly against the record sheet I by the tendency of the spring k2 to rotate the rod K. T he stepped cam K2 has four operating surfaces of different radii, as will be clear from Fig. 2, so that when the setting shaft C is rotated by means of the setting arm C the lever K and rod K, together with the marking arm I, will be raised or lowered to different positions, whereby the?l relative position of the marker or pencil ZUon the record sheet will be determined by the rate of charge for which the taximeter register is set.

The record sheet is moved relative to the pencils or markers in any suitable Way. For example, in the present device whiehshows the record sheet -as a tape or web of paper, the mechanism for holdin and moving the record sheet is as follows: o the hour arbor,

d of the clock mechanism D is fixed a bevel wheel d meshing with a companion bevel wheel d* on a reel-driving shaft `M which extends upward through the partition a and is provided at its upper end witha. driving wheel m having a slightly roughened or toothed periphery. A lever AN, Fig. 3, full,

crumed at n carries a reel or spool arbor-on which is loosely mounted a. spool 'n on which the record web may be wound. To a pin on the ronghened edge o'f the reel driving ivheelv m. To the upper surface of the partitioli` a is secured a cylindrical'roll holderP, open at the top and having a slit p atone side,

into which a spool of paper web may be carried out through the slit p, and inserted inY a slit, n", in the spool n2, whereupon said spool is rotated to wind up the web t`o a sulcient extent to-hold it from sl'pdpin Between the'spool n2 and the roll-,ho er the paper web I passes overxa standard P against whichthe paper is pressed bythe marking pencils or points. The web of pa.-

per may be ruled with longitudinal line's` dividing it into a series of spaces as indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and 'may'V have printed on the top edgea series of numbers indicating the respective hours :and smaller intervals, to aid in reading 'the record, A In Fi g. 4 the record sheet or web is shown as provided, at the left hand edge, with lg- 110 serted in an obvious nummer, its free 'endl i ends indicating the purpose of the various longitudinal spaces, but this is not absolutely necessary and is generally omitted.

From the description of the record mechanism it will be seen that the web or record sheet 1 is moved continuously by the clock, and that the markers or pencils, i, Z, are arranged to make continuous registering Contact with the sheet and thus will mark said sheet at all times when the clock is running. When the vehicle is moving, the cam will reciprocate the lower pencil h2, and cause it to mark a, wave-like or saw-tooth line on the record sheet, the slope of the line varying according to the speed of the vehiele. In the portion of the record sheet shown in Fig. 4, the extreme range ot the marker transversely of the Strip is snpposed to correspond to one-half mile travel of the vehicle. although. of course, this will depend upon the number of revolutions of the cam (i relative to a unit of distance traveled by the vehicle. When the vehicle is not moving. the lower pencil merely marks a straight line on the paper, and the length of such line indicates the duration of time when the vehicle was standing. The upper pencil Z records the condition of the taxinr eter register, and thereby of the conditions of service under which the vehicle was employed at different times and also the length of service under each condition.

The manner of reading the record sheet is made clear by Fig. 4. For example, an exaniination of the record sheet illustrated in that figure shows that at S oclock the vehicle was standing, as appears from the straight line at the lower part of the sheet,

'and that it was not then employial. as shown b v the straight line in the longitudinal diu vision marked Idle. At about two minutes past eight o`clock the vehicle commenced to travel about as shown by the, saw-toothed or wave lines at the lower part of the sheet, but still was not engaged b v a passenger, as shown by the straight line in the Space n'iarked ldle". 'ihe said wave, lines indicate that the vehicle traveled about ll miles while unemployed between about 8:02 and 8208, showing an a verage speed olI about 18L miles per hour during thisy time. At the termination of thisA period the which. was hired for carrying one or two passengers, as shown by the v`lraight line in the, space marked First and was so employed until about 8:12, traxeling about mile nir der this employment when it was discharged and stood idle for a i'cw minutes, then traveled 'for a few minutes. again stood still for a short interval. again traveled for a few minutes, until about 91:27 it was engaged by three or l'our passengers. as Ishown by the straight liiu` in the space marked 2nd and traveled about 11, miles before being discharged by said passengers, about 8:30. '.l`hereaiter it stood idle until about 91kt() when it was hired on a time :service as shown by the straight line in the space marked Time and during this interval, so far as can be determined from the piece of record shown, it was standing at three dill'erent intervals, and was traveling during the intermediate intervals, as shown by the lower record.

From the above explanation it will be seen that the record made by the lower marker, shows themovement or noirmovemcnt of the vehicle, while the record made by the upper marker, shows the condition of the servire in which the, vehicle was engaged, the time characters (in the sheet determining the time of each condition. The combined record produced by the markers on the rccording web or tape thus expres s continuously the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tariff conditions under which the vehicle is being operated. From this it is obvious that the record gives the details of service in a ver)` clear and complete manner, so that with such a recording apparatus an owner may control the operation of his vehicle by the driver and may readily determine the amount of fares which he should be entitled to receive.

My improved clock-rewinding device is constructed as follows: The bevel pinion d which meshes with the bevel pinion d on the spring arbor of the clock, is fixed to a spindle llt, (shown in elevation in Fig. (i) which is.tubular at its lower portion, as shown in Fig. 5, and has its extreme lower end reduced in diameter. as indicated at 1^. Just above this reduced portion the spindle is provided with transverse slots 7", Fig. 5. Within the tubular portion theie is mounted a plunger, i, held in place in the lube by a crosspin r which is guided in the slots 7", whritelrv the plunger 'r'f may move to a limited evtent longitudinally but cannot rotate in the tube. the said pin 7' ha\ ing itsl ends eX- iending outside the spindle. 'l`he eXtreme lower end ol' the reduced portion fr is provided with notches one of which is indicated ai r, Fig. 1',thesonotchesheilig ratchetshaped. The spindle li has its upper p0rlion screw-threadcd as show i' at v5, and upon this is screwed a sleeve, S, having an annula flange s at the lower end. and diametrirally opposite slots s extending longitudinal oi. the sleeve, from the top end downward for a portion ot' the length of the sleeve. See Fig. 7. The upper portion of the sleeve is mounted in a hearing or guide T. Fig. 5, lixed to any suitable part oi the trame work or casing. each guide having pins or keys t, which proiect into the respective slots a ot the sleeve and thus prevent rotation of the sleeve while at the same time permitting longitudinal movemei'it thereof. The lower flanged end of the sleeve is Ieceived in the hollow socket portion of a iuo\ able coupling member U, having a cap u screwed in place and provided with a hole through which the sleeve passes snugly but loosely. The said ino\ able coupling member U is splined to the y.pindle R, as indicated at u whereby' the rotation of the coupling will rotate the spindle, and vice versa, the splined connection allowing a` longitudinal movement oi the coupling member U on the spindle. Between the cap u and the flange s ot the slee\e. there is mounted a helical spring U which tends to hold the movable coupling member l upward, while a spring U2 mounted in the socket below the l'lange s tends to force the movable coupling member U downward. The cap u has an exterior diameter somewhat greater than that of the coupling member U, vv'hereby a shoulder is formed as indicated at ul. A spring catch ui* ixed at one end to a suitable iai-t of the framework of the apparatus and adjustable by means of a Screw, u, is provided with a hook u arranged to engage the shoulder u2 formed by the cap whereby the movable coupling member U may be held up against the action of the spring U2, but when the tension of the z/id spring becomes too great, the spring catch is forced to one side thus freeingr the shoulder `112 and allowing the spring U2 member lf downward. To the lower reduced end 7" of-the spindle is attached a drivingr wheel such as the worm wheel V, which is continuously driven by the movement o? the vehicle, as for example by the worm V on the cross-shaft V2 actuated from the driving shaft l through the worm wheel V and worm V4. The upper side ot' the driving wheel V andthe lower end face of the movablt` couplingt member U are provided with 'coacting clutch devices` for example, the pins o, e', which are slightly tapered or eoned as shown. A key WV is provided for winding the cloclf; by hand it' desired at any time when the vehicie is stir tionary. This key W, Fig. 5, ln s a eylindri cal end arranged to enter the tubular lower end of" the spindle ll, whereby the plunger`v r2, is pushed upward` thus causing the. crosspin 7', to push the movable couplingr inem-- ber U upward against the tension of the spring! U', whereby the clutch devices or pins, i', yl"t are separated. The key 'lV aiso has a crosspin or shoulder il* which engages theI ratchet notches rh in the lower end ot' the spindle ll so that when the hey lV is inscrted and rotated in the proper direction, first the coupling` ll is lifted to release its clutch members from those of the. driving wheel V and then the spindle R is-rotated to wind the r-loelc. The screw'tliread connecto push the movable coupling` tion between the spindle R and the sieeve Si is such that as the spindle is refated to wind the cloelv' springn the slrfrve moved upw ard, thus 'tending to compres 'the spi-ing lv' above the flange s which spring in turn loi res iiie movable coupling member upward until iis shoulder, u2, is caught' and held by the hooh ot' the spring" catch, it, thus hold iiug` the clutch members apart 1n this con dition the clock treeii troni the driving wheel Y and may opti-rate in the usual way. As the clocli runs down, the spring arbor .is rotated in the opposite direction to that which it had when being wound up. Consequently, it rotateI the spindle lt in such e. direction as to cause the screw thread to move the :sleci e H down ward, this i'iioveinent going" on relatively siowiy. The downward movement ot the sleeve. ci compres s the spring l below the dangle e. the compi sion oi' the springr gradually inerc-i ing and tendiner lo drive ihe movable coiig lii Y mehr bei' l` downward, whirl] tendency is at iirst resisted by the spring' ati-h. u", unlii inally the pressure of the spring lV becomes great enough to overronu: the spring); catch, HP; 9e which releases the shoulder if? and thine upon the spring" lff drives the member U downward and the clutch devices or pine, 11'). of the movable coupling device engage the clutch devices or pins7 1*, of the driving; wheel Y. VIt the vehicle ivi motion, the driving;r wheel Y will rotate the elachV meer bei' l' and thus rotate the ,spindle L', vfat-ii.

will wind up the clock sprintf. .Mao thi :otation of the spindle il will. by thiactioii ai.' its, its screw thread. move the sleeve S, uA "ard, This tends to compress the spring lA abov-r theliangcs. viurh iirsmerelfzf because oi lw i en?, bw tween the elm/ii i when i ifi..

'ii to so e i-tionai t: p cutehanein .said spiinj.: li li immer# an extent as to ovrrconie ihis i eaggrnicnt ii mines the iifovidf bei ui ard suddenly with siii cause the sliouldc'` to en; the spring cati-h u wliiif movable clutch member ai with the driving: 'wl-.rei that l means ofl` iiff; the rloclt i., aiiouiat nio'reinvit of the rliiili llie i'loclv' upon thc extent o. :nifl this is determine.' spring; l and ll. izo? i. in a taxiineler. the fonibimgiail., thc iaxiuieter clock in citing device and the i, arranged to be twierated ily the movement of the vehicle, of 'means for holding and mov ing;r a record sheetconnections between the clock mechanism and said means whereby the latter is operated, a reciprocatory marker arranged to mark on one part of the record sheet, means operated by the register driving shat't for reciprocating said marker in continuous contact with said record sheet, a second marker arranged to mark continuously on :mother part ot the record sheet, and means operated by the movement of the register-setting mechanism for adjusting said second marker in a direction transverse to that ot the. movement ot the record sheet, the record produced on thc sheet by said markers expressing at all times the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tariff conditions under which the ,vehicle is operated.

2. ln a taximeter, the combination, with the taximeter clock mechanism, the registersetting device and the register-driving shaft arranged to be operated by the movement of the vehicle, of means for holding and moving a record sheet, connections between the clock mechanism and said means whereby the latter is operated, a reciprocatory marker arranged to mark on one part of the record sheet, means operated by the register-driv- .ing shaft for reciprocating said marker in continuous contact with said record sheet, a second marker arranged to mark continuously on another part ot the record sheet, a stepped cam arranged to be adjusted by the movement ol the register-setting device, and connections between said stepped cam and the said second marker, whereby the latter is adjusted transversely ot the direction of movement of thc record sheet, according to the position of the register-setting device, the record produced on the sheet by Said markers expressing at all times the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tarilf conditions under which the vehicle is operated.

In a taxinniter, the combination, with the taximeter clock mechanism, the registersetting device and the register-driving shaft arranged to be operated by the movement of the vehicle. ol means for holding and moving a record sheet, connections between the eloek-mechanisin and said means ywhereby the latter is operated, a reciprocatory marker arranged to mark on one part, of the sheet, a cam device rotated by the registerdriving shaft, means operated by the camdevice for reciprocating said reciprocatory marker in a straight line and in continuous Contact with said record sheet, a second marker arranged to mark continuously on the record sheet at another part, and means actuated by the register-setting device tor adjusting said second marker transversely to the direction of movement of the record sheet, the record produced on the sheet by Said markers expressing at all times the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tariif conditions under which the venicle is operated.

4. ln a taximeter, the combination, with the register-setting means and the registerdriving means arranged to be operated by the movement of the vehicle, ot means for holding and uniformly moving a record sheet, a pair of markers arranged in a lino transverse to the movement of the sheet, moans operated by the register-driving nir-,ans for reciprocating one marker transversely to the movement of the record sheet, and means actuated by the movement of the register-setting means for adjusting the other marker transversely of the movement of the record sheet and to different extents, both markers being arranged to make continuous registering contact with said sheet and to produce a record thereon expressing at all times the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tariff conditions under which the vehicle is operated.

In a taximeter, the combination, with the register-setting means and the registerdriving means arranged to be operated by the movement of the vehicle, of means for holding anduniiormly moving a record sheet, means operated by the register-driving means for giving one marker rectilinear reciprocative movement transversely to the movement of the record sheet, and means actuated by the movement of the registersetting means for adjusting the other marker transversely of the movement ofthe record sheet and to different extents, both markers being arranged to make continuous registering contact with said sheet and to produce a record thereon expressing at all times thc relation between the speed of the vehicle and the tariff conditions under which the vehicle is operated.

A taximeter comprising the combination, with clock mechanism, a recording tape or web arranged to be moved longitudinally thereby, an adjustable tarii-registering device comprising a marker adapted to make continuous' tariff-registering contact with said tape, and means for moving' said marker transversely of said tape to set the marker in dilfercnt tariff-registering positions, of a second marker adapted to make continuous speed-registering contact with said tape and capable of movement transversely of the tape, and means operable by travel of the vehicle on which the taximeter is mounted for reciprocating said second marker transversely of the tape at a rate proportional to the speed of the vehicle, the arrangement being such that the combined record produced by said markers on the tape expresses continuously the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the taril't' condiiions under which the vehicle is operated.

7. In a taximeter, the combination, with the clock mechanism having a clock-spring and arbor, and the 1egister-driving means arranged t0 be actuated by the movement of the vehicle, of a Winding means including a spindle connected to the clock-spring arbor, said Spindle being screw-threaded, a clutch member driven by the register-driving means, and a movable clutch member having a screw-thread engaging the thread of the spindle and arranged to engage with 10 `and be disengaged from the other clutch member.

In Witness whereof l have hereunto afxed my hand.

GEORGE SEYMOUR MAXWELL. Witnesses JOHN H. Simms, M. C. MAssin. 

